National Aboriginal Day 2015 (June 21)

News

National Aboriginal Day takes place on June 21. It is a special day to celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada.

Expert:Nico Trocmé, professor and director of the School of Social Work at McGill University

Expertise: He researches, with his colleague Vandha Sinha, the overrepresentation of aboriginal youths in child protection services and the under-funding of social and health services to aboriginal families.

Expert: James Ford, professor in the Department of Geography at McGill University

Expertise: His work focuses on what makes Indigenous communities vulnerable or resilient to the impacts of climate change. He seeks to identify ways in which climate risks can be reduced. He works primarily with Inuit communities, but also with aboriginal communities in the Amazon and Uganda.

Contact: 514-398-4960, james [dot] ford [at] mcgill [dot] ca.

Expert:Jake Burack, professor of School Psychology and Human Development in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University. He is the founder and director of the McGill Youth Study Team and a research consultant at Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies.

Expertise: He is available to comment on the issues of education and the well-being among First Nations kids. His research is largely focused on the beneficial effects on academic success, social adaption and emotional well-being of cultural identity.

Contact: (514) 398-3433, jake [dot] burack [at] mcgill [dot] ca.

Expert:Jessica Coon, professor in the Department of Linguistics at McGill University

Expertise: She’s a linguist who conducted research on Mi'gmaq, an Algonquian language of Eastern Quebec and the Maritimes, as well as a number of Mayan languages spoken in southern Mexico and Guatemala. While her main research is theoretical in nature, she has been involved with various language revitalization efforts in community–academia partnerships, such as miqmaq.org.

Contact: 514-398-4224, Jessica [dot] coon [at] mcgill [dot] ca

Expert : Dr. Laurence Kirmayer, James McGill Professor and Director of the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University

Expertise: He conducts research on the mental health of indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), mental health services for immigrants and refugees, psychiatry in primary care, and the anthropology of psychiatry.